August heat tends to throw me into a kind of torpor. It seems like summer just goes on and on, with no prospect of ever ending. All I want is to stay indoors with a cold drink and the AC running full blast, but indulging in too much air conditioning ends with an inflated electricity bill. So how can you stay cool (or at least a little cooler) during scorching hot summers without overpaying for it?
#1 Stick to cooling one part of the house
Heat rises up, which means that the upper level of our house gets insufferably hot during the day. Using the AC is more cost-efficient when we all hang out in the living room downstairs, rather than disperse around the house and run multiple AC units at the same time.
#2 Block sunlight
Draw the curtains or use blinds to block the sun when it hits your house directly (this, of course, will depend on where your house faces). Open the windows to catch the breeze during the cooler hours of the day, like the early morning.
#3 Use a frozen bottle and a fan
Freeze a water bottle and place it in front of a running fan. This simple hack will release a stream of cool air into a room.
#4 Take it easy when it’s hot
Don’t force anything too demanding during the hottest hours of the day. Stay indoors, and preferably rest. Do outdoor chores early in the morning or after sunset.
#5 Wear cotton
Choose lightweight, loose clothes from natural fabrics like cotton or linen. Don’t be tempted to expose too much skin to the sun, as it can actually make you feel hotter. Also choose cooling, absorbent bed linens.
#6 Take a cool shower
Or a cool foot bath. You could even sit with your feet in a bowl of water while you work on your laptop.
#7 Cook quickly
Opt for quick meals that don’t require you to heat up your kitchen (and the rest of your living area) for a long time.
#8 Spend time out of doors
When heat subsides, of course. Around here, we have 2-3 hours in the late afternoon/evening when the house has heated up despite my best efforts, but outside the temperatures drop. Spending that time out of doors helps us stay cool without keeping the AC overworked.
Domestic Felicity 